The Raven

Surprised

As I struck down I was thinking about all the people who were dear to me, all the good things that happened to me, and finally, I thought about saving my friend. That seemed to give me some kind of energy that started going through me like a huge buzzing wave. It was the first time I had felt as truly myself since the moment I died. 

I hoped with all my heart that it was a good sign. I aimed for the monster's eye since it seemed to be the most vulnerable part of its body, and I wasn't quite sure about the rest of the scaly body. We both had similar looks of surprise when I pierced its eye with my sharp sword. 

After the initial surprise, it screamed in pain. The sound it made was a horrible raspy sound that was painful to hear. We were both shocked that I could hurt it; I, a bodiless thing, could actually use the sword, and I could hurt the monster. It was something that probably never happened before. 

Gooey green liquid started splashing around more than I expected, and, as disgusted as I was, I felt relief that at least I could harm it. Some liquid splashed on my hand and I started feeling a burning pain. As I pulled out my sword I stared, shocked at the swelling wound that appeared on my skin, since I couldn't comprehend how I could be dead and still feel pain.

The monster started writhing in pain and trying to stab me with its venomous tail, but luckily I was agile enough to avoid its uncoordinated attempts. As it started spinning wildly, trying to prick me with its tail, I jumped on its back and sliced through its neck with one elegant move. 

It was such a strong and precise blow that the next thing I knew its head was rolling down the path. I had no idea where that move came from. Alive, I hadn't been a very agile person, I could fight, but I never had the grace and poise I showed in killing the demon. Not having the time to think about it, I just thought it was a stroke of luck. 

The monster's body collapsed and I quickly moved away from the green poisonous liquid that kept pouring from its carcass. It seemed like too much liquid even for such a demon. It was flowing freely from the body and sizzling when it touched the ground. I decided to leave immediately, but I wasn't sure which way to go. My plan didn't work the way I expected. I had no one to follow after killing the demon.

After I gave it some thought, I decided to go through the skull gate, because it made sense that it would be the right way to go. Also, I thought that the monster led the humans that way, so it was probably the way to the Dark Lord. 

Before I moved on, I decided to clean my sword from the poisonous gooey liquid. Luckily for me, the liquid didn't seem to damage the sword, and my wound didn't look too bad. I put the sword back in its sheath and started approaching the gate. 

As I went through it, I saw right above me that a fresh human head was positioned as if for decoration. I was disgusted, but still, I kept staring at it. Suddenly its sightless eyes opened and the lifeless mouth started forming the words: "Help meee!" How could I help a severed head!? 

I knew that there was nothing I could do but go on not paying any attention to the blind stare I could feel on me. I didn't know what dreadful things awaited me, but I had to go on. My focus had to be on stopping the Dark Lord. After all,  one head that couldn't be helped and one soul that couldn't be saved (mine) were not more important than the world. And I had a strong feeling that the world was at stake.